Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Tomorrow should be full of nothing but food, bed, and movie marathons.”
“That sounds good.” It did, too. A day with nothing to do but eat and relax with Raff sounded like heaven after a night of hell.
“Including romance movies.” At my grumble, a laugh moved through him. “You loved the last one and you know it. Besides, they are the ultimate comfort watches.”
They were also dangerous.
I was already struggling with my feelings for Raff. Watching a bunch of movies where couples had to overcome some sort of internal or external issue to wind up together? It felt like that might break down what was left of my defenses and make me admit that the feelings I was having toward Raff felt less like simple attraction and more like something I’d insisted to him just days before that I didn’t think existed.
“You get two movies to try to convert me with.”
“I love a challenge.”
“Raff?”
“Yeah?”
“What did Arty say?”
“We don’t have to talk about that tonight. You’re supposed to be sleeping.”
“I want to know.”
“Okay. Drake is the son of a sweetheart conman. He grew up around this shit. When his old man went to prison, he decided to continue the family legacy.”
“No wonder he was so convincing.”
“Yeah, he was trained his whole life. He went into real estate-type cons. Smaller scale at first, then getting bigger as he got more confident.”
“He was definitely confident.” It was probably what appealed to me the most. If he approached me with even a hint of uncertainty, a single ‘if this doesn’t work,’ I would have run away. But he was so certain. He made it easy to believe him, even if I rarely trusted anyone.
“Then what?”
If I wasn’t so close, I wouldn’t have felt how his body tensed. I wondered for the barest of seconds if he was going to lie to me.
But then he exhaled slowly.
“This is as far as Arty and I got before I got the call from York, so I can’t give you more details than this.”
“Okay.”
“One of Drake’s victims ended up murdered.”
“Huh.”
“Huh? That’s it? Huh?”
“I probably would have been shocked before tonight. But, clearly, he’s not above that kind of thing.”
“Yeah,” Raff said, arms tightening around me.
“Can we figure out more?”
“Absolutely. Maybe not tomorrow. He made it a point to say he’d be busy. But we wanted to binge eat. And you are very excited to watch more romantic movies.”
“Yeah. Me,” I drawled. Though, it was starting to sound really nice.
Raff’s hand started to slide up and down my back, short-circuiting my mind, making all other thoughts disappear.
“There’s a hopeless romantic in there somewhere, I just know it.”
Just this once, I didn’t argue against that.
Because that warm, swelling sensation in my chest? That felt a hell of a lot like the books, movies, and songs claimed.
And I drifted off to sleep before I could convince myself otherwise.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lula
I allowed one day.
One day of eating delicious, soft, awful-for-me food while lounging in pajamas and watching movies I pretended to object to but was actually charmed by.
But the questions nagged at me.
About Drake, his past, his current movements, anything else that Arty might have found out about him.
I’d never been good at staying still, at wondering. I liked movement. I liked knowing.
“I sense you’re about two minutes away from demanding I call Arty,” Raff said as he handed me a warm coffee. My gum felt fine, but he was being extra careful about what I ate and drank until I could get in to see my dentist back in Shady Valley.
It was sweet.
And I was entirely too charmed by it.
“You know me well,” I agreed.
“We could call Arty. Or you could have a spa day and eat a giant ice cream sundae.”
“You’re a bad influence. But, no. I don’t need more pampering. I need answers.”
“I’d argue you deserve both, but fine. I’ll get in touch with him.”
“Do you think Drake is still in town?”
Raff glanced up from his phone. “He’d be stupid if he was. Unless he was in the middle of a con, I think he would have headed out as soon as his hitman didn’t check in.”
“How do you think he found out about us being here?”
“We didn’t exactly keep a low profile. It could have been as simple as him seeing you. Or maybe Arty triggered something by looking into him.”
“We have more questions than answers right now.”
“Yeah, but we also have more history, which is helpful to understand Drake. Or at least it helps you feel less alone.”
That was fair.
It felt worse to think I was the only person to fall for his schemes. If dozens of people over many years did as well, it wasn’t about me. He was just good at what he did.
“Do you want Arty to come here, or do you want to venture out?”
My hand went to move toward my throat before I forced it to lower back down again.